Shannon and the Clams: Ruin Christmas (2010)

My boyfriend and I just put up the tree in our little apartment; of course decorating tunes were required. While I've collected a handful of Christmas records over the last few years, my stash is mostly digital. Truth is, I've never decorated my own place before now, as I'm always at my parents' over Christmas. This year was the first year my records, my record player and I were in the same place for "Decorating Day". My vinyl collection is meagre (you can see the entire pile below) but one addition I acquired earlier in the year was very welcome - Shannon and the Clams Ruin Christmas.

I'm not going to pick a favourite track; they're all amazing. But I'll leave you with this:

Hey! Ho! Let's Go!

I have a lot of feels when it comes to Christmas music.

Every year - going on officially now for maybe the last five years and unofficially for a lot longer - I make a Christmas mix CD for family and friends. It's an art form, I like to facetiously tell friends who don't really care. In my fine-tuning of this year's track list (it's a process) I came across a wealth of underground Christmas music blogs. At first I was pissed - why has it taken me this long to find such a treasure trove? And then I got kind of excited. Because maybe - just maybe - underground Christmas music bloggers are kind of….my people? And even though it seems like they've got the field covered, maybe there's something I can bring to my table.

So, here goes nothing. I have no idea what form this blog will take, and no idea where to start. After all, I've been collecting these tunes for about a decade now, give or take. But I'll muddle along until I figure it out, I guess.

And, since I know I always like to feel vaguely invested in the authors of my favourite blogs, I offer these fact-crumbs to you for consumption right off the bat: I'm an Aussie grrrl in my mid-twenties. Shortbread is my cocaine. And this is, quite possibly, my very favourite Christmas song of all time: